‘The convention, outlined by former Labour PM Harold Wilson, says intelligence agencies should not bug MPs, but that hasn’t stopped such behaviour occurring.’
The Guardian, 23rd July 2015
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘Britain should review its key counter-terrorism powers and revise laws on snooping by security services, a UN report has suggested.’
The Guardian, 23rd July 2015
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘Three politicians will challenge the lawfulness of the intelligence services’ bulk interception of electronic data at a hearing later.’
BBC News, 23rd July 2015
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘A legal challenge against the Metropolitan Police by The Sun newspaper – where three reporters say their human rights were breached during the ‘plebgate’ affair – has started at the High Court.’
The Independent, 20th July 2015
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘High court judges will give their decision on Friday on an accusation that the government has imposed laws which allow the police and security services to “spy on citizens” without proper safeguards.’
The Guardian, 17th July 2015
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘Mark Ellison QC and Alison Morgan’s review on the impact of undisclosed undercover police activity on the safety of convictions.’
Attorney General’s Office, 16th July 2015
Source: www.gov.uk/ago
‘The Metropolitan police is being taken to court in a landmark case over its decision to secretly obtain journalists’ phone records in an attempt to identify the mole behind the Plebgate saga involving the then cabinet minister Andrew Mitchell.’
The Guardian, 14th July 2015
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘Privacy campaigners have secured significant concessions in a key report into surveillance by the British security agencies published on Tuesday. The 132-page report, A Democratic Licence To Operate, which Nick Clegg commissioned last year in the wake of revelations by the US whistleblower Edward Snowden, acknowledges the importance of privacy concerns.’
The Guardian, 14th July 2015
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘The Metropolitan police are to step up their use of targeted stop-and-search operations in high knife-crime areas of London due to a recent rise in stabbings in the capital.’
The Guardian, 22nd June 2015
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
An Englishman’s home is his castle, so the old saying goes, and it might be thought that the implication is that the English place a special importance on privacy. The reverse, however, seems to be the case, when the law is considered – for much of the law that provides protection for our privacy, particularly in relation to surveillance, does not originate in the UK but in Europe. With the perfect storm of possible ‘Brexit’ and the potential repeal of the Human Rights Act (HRA), that might leave our privacy in an even more precarious state than it currently is. The so-called ‘British Bill of Rights’ has yet to see the light of day: one of the key questions could be what provision it makes for privacy, particularly in relation to the internet and other forms of communications.
Full story
UK Constitutional Law Association, 18th June 2015
Source: www.ukconstitutionallaw.org
‘Existing UK surveillance laws should be scrapped and replaced by a “comprehensive and comprehensible new law…drafted from scratch”, the barrister appointed to review UK terrorism legislation has said.’
OUT-LAW.com, 16th June 2015
Source: www.out-law.com
‘British legal history has long inspired the common law world. The Magna Carta, an 800-year-old agreement between a King and his barons, remains an icon of liberty, seen around the world as the foundation stone of the rule of law. In contrast, British law on online surveillance and privacy has been arcane and obscure – a field that is for reluctant experts if it is for anyone at all.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 13th June 2015
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
‘The government intends wholesale reform, but will it perpetuate a dark history of invasion of privacy or follow the US example, and end invasive surveillance?’
The Guardian, 5th June 2015
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘A legal challenge fronted by two UK MPs against communications surveillance laws passed last year has reached the High Court.’
OUT-LAW.com, 4th June 2015
Source: www.out-law.com
‘The High Court is to hear a legal challenge to the government’s emergency surveillance law brought by two MPs.’
BBC News, 4th June 2015
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘Police officers in the UK ask for permission to monitor use of emails, text messages and internet searches once every two minutes, a new report has disclosed.’
The Independent, 1st June 2015
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘Ministers are facing calls to curb the scale of police access to private phone and email records, after a report by privacy campaigners found officers were making a request every two minutes and getting access in 93% of cases.’
The Guardian, 1st June 2015
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘Blacklisted workers have intensified their campaign to uncover the extent of secret police surveillance operations against them.’
The Guardian, 28th May 2015
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘In its recent report, Privacy and Security: A modern and transparent legal framework, the Parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee pondered on the scale of public concern about digital surveillance:
“It is worth noting that this debate does not seem to arise in the context of the Agencies intercepting letters, or listening to people’s home or office landline calls. So what is it about the internet that makes it different? For many, the free and open nature of the internet represents liberty and democracy, and they consider that these values should not be compromised for the sake of detecting a minority who wish to use it for harmful purposes.”’
OUP Blog, 28th May 2015
Source: http://blog.oup.com
‘Overdue modernisation of the way the authorities monitor criminals and terrorists – or a Snooper’s Charter eroding our basic liberties? The proposal outlined in the Queen’s Speech to “modernise the law on communications data” will divide opinion. But prepare for another long battle over the way that law is framed and the balance it strikes between privacy and public safety.’
BBC News, 27th May 2015
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
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